Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Europe

After 13 years, Merkel to step down as chancellor

Xinhua | Updated: 2018-10-30 07:51
Share
Share - WeChat
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a Christian Democratic Union party congress in Berlin, Germany, on Feb 26, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

BERLIN -- Angela Merkel, the veteran German Chancellor and crisis manager, on Monday announced her withdrawal from political career after the chancellorship term ends.

The 64-year-old Merkel told a press conference at the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that she will remain as chancellor for the remainder of the legislature, which started this March and will end in 2021.

In addition, she announced that she will not run again for CDU leadership at the party's next federal conference in Hamburg in December. In general, a CDU chancellor is at the same time leader of the party in a bid to govern easily, and Merkel also said before the two positions should belong in one hand.

"It's time to open a new chapter!" said Merkel at the press conference. She added that she will not take any other political positions after the chancellorship term ends, dispelling some reports that she will serve in Brussels.

Merkel has informed her decision to Horst Seehofer, leader of Christian Social Union (CSU) and Andrea Nahles, chairwoman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), the two parties in the current German federal coalition government.

Merkel is CDU chairwoman since April 2000 and German Chancellor since November 2005. On March 14 this year she was sworn in for the fourth term as Chancellor in German federal parliament. She successfully led the country to withstand the 2007/2008 international financial crisis, and led the EU out of a Eurozone debt crisis, winning worldwide prestige of her leadership.

Her leadership, however, began to wither since the 2015 European refugee crisis, when she welcomed over one million refugees to enter Germany, triggering the rise of right-populist politics and the fragmentation of the country's party politics.

Merkel's Christian Democrats suffered a significant drop in 2017 September federal elections, but she could not help win back voters lost as she promised. Instead, the Merkel-led coalition government was stuck into quarrels over migration policy, an issue called as Merkel's Achilles Heel.

Her announcement of initiating political withdrawal came after the state election in Hesse on Sunday, in which the CDU's votes decreased by more than 10 percent compared to the last election five years ago, while the environmentalist Green Party became the greatest winner and the right-populist Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) has successfully crossed the 5-percent threshold and entered all state parliaments in Germany.

The setback in Hesse followed the similar one earlier this month that CSU, CDU's Bavaria-only ally, lost absolute majority in the state election.

"The image given by the government is unacceptable...As chancellor and the chairwoman of the CDU, I carry the responsibility both for the successes and for the failures," Merkel told the press conference, describing the results in Hesse as bitter and disappointing.

"I am convinced that we have to stop," said Merkel, referring to the state elections in Hesse. "And I wish that we take yesterday's election day as a break, that we put everything to the test, which we have said and done since the election of the Bundestag until today."

Merkel also confirmed the candidacy for the new CDU party leadership, including the party's secretary-general Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and German Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn.

"I want my party gets the freedom to prepare well for the future," said Merkel.

Merkel's renunciation as CDU leader put the coalition government at risk. A Merkel loyalist and successor like Kramp-Karrenbauer will probably last longer, while a CDU leader like Spahn, a Merkel critic, will bring more uncertainties.

SPD chairwoman Andrea Nahles said she saw no direct effects on the coalition government. She said Merkel has done an "extraordinary" job at the helm of the CDU, steering it out of deep crises.

Nahles said Merkel not only withstood criticism but also reorganized the content of the CDU and established a new style of leadership.

The CSU chairman Seehofer regretted the Merkel's renunciation as CDU chairwoman.

"It's a pity," Seehofer was quoted by DPA, "We have had some discussions, but it has always been a trusting, mutually respectful cooperation...And in that respect, I think it's a shame that this caesura should take place."

The Greens' leader Annalena Baerbock praised that Merkel has opened the party for a modern image of society. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner, however, said at a press conference on Monday that Merkel gave up the wrong office, but the chancellorship.

AfD leader Joerg Meuthen said that Merkel's decision to give up the CDU chairmanship was "good news," saying that he expected her to "give up her chancellorship soon."

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品三级国语在线看| 精品国产一区二区三区久久| 大学生一级特黄的免费大片视频| 久久精品国产亚洲av电影网| 青青青手机视频在线观看| 多毛bgmbgmbgm胖在线| 久久久久久a亚洲欧洲AV| 粗大的内捧猛烈进出小视频| 国产成人精品免费久久久久| 99精品国产成人一区二区| 日本19禁啪啪无遮挡免费| 亚洲国产欧美另类va在线观看| 精品亚洲成a人片在线观看| 国产夫妻在线视频| 4ayy私人影院| 日本精品在线观看视频| 亚洲欧美日韩久久精品第一区 | 蜜桃成熟时1997在线观看在线观看| 国产精品高清一区二区三区不卡 | 欧美日韩激情一区二区三区| 十七岁高清在线观看| 高清无码一区二区在线观看吞精 | 欧美丰满熟妇乱XXXXX网站| 人妻妺妺窝人体色WWW聚色窝| 高清国产激情视频在线观看 | 精品无码人妻一区二区三区品 | 久久99精品久久久久久动态图| 百合潮湿的欲望| 国产乡下三级全黄三级bd| 俄罗斯乱理伦片在线观看| 在线美女免费观看网站h| 三级三级久久三级久久| 日本漫画口工全彩内番漫画丝袜 | 久久精品国产亚洲夜色AV网站| 欧美日韩你懂的| 人人添人人妻人人爽夜欢视av| 精品视频一区二区观看| 国产乱码精品一区二区三区四川人| a视频在线观看免费| 日韩高清在线免费观看| 亚洲欧洲中文日韩久久av乱码|